Joseph W. Westphal

Joseph Westphal
United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
Assumed office
March 28, 2014
President Barack Obama
Preceded by James Smith
United States Undersecretary of the Army
In office
September 21, 2009  March 28, 2014
President Barack Obama
Preceded by Nelson Ford
Succeeded by Brad Carson
United States Secretary of the Army
Acting
In office
March 5, 2001  May 31, 2001
President George W. Bush
Preceded by Gregory Dahlberg (Acting)
Succeeded by Thomas White
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
In office
June 1998  March 5, 2001
President Bill Clinton
Preceded by Martin Lancaster
Succeeded by Michael Parker
Personal details
Born (1948-01-26) January 26, 1948
Santiago, Chile
Alma mater Adelphi University
University of Missouri, Columbia

Joseph W. Westphal (born January 26, 1948) is the current United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. He served as the 30th United States Under Secretary of the Army from 2009-2014.

Early life and education

Westphal was born in Santiago, Chile.[1] He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Adelphi University in New York[2] and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Missouri.[3]

Career

Westphal served as the head of the Department of Political Science at Oklahoma State University between 1975 and 1987 and as an adjunct professor at Georgetown University while working at the law firm of Patton Boggs.[4] He served as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works from 1998 to 2001 and the Acting Secretary of the Army in 2001.[5] He also served as Chancellor of the University of Maine System[1] from 2002 - 2006 and was a professor of Political Science at the University of Maine from 2002 - 2009.[6] He later served as the Provost, at The New School in New York City.[7]

Westphal was a member of President Obama’s Transition Team for Defense[8] and was appointed as the United States Under Secretary of the Army in September, 2009. He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as Ambassador to Saudi Arabia on March 26, 2014 and sworn in the same day.[9][10]

References

  1. 1 2 Heil, Emily (21 October 2013). "Senior Army official said to be in line for Saudi ambassadorship". Washington Post. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  2. Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (19 October 2002). "An Army of One; New UMS chancellor already making mark on state education scene". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  3. "U.S. army undersecretary picked to be next Saudi envoy". The Peninsula Times. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  4. Cohen, Ruth-Ellen (7 February 2002). "Westphal selected for UMS top post; Ex-Army official unanimous choice". The Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  5. William Gardner Bell. Secretaries of war and secretaries of the army: portr. & biograph. sketches. Government Printing Office. p. 172. ISBN 978-0-16-087635-6.
  6. "Looking for needles in a federal haystack". Washington Post. 7 November 2013. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  7. Santora, Marc; Foderaro, Lisa W. (11 December 2008). "New School Faculty Votes No Confidence in Kerrey". The New York Times. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  8. Knickmeyer, Ellen (8 November 2013). "U.S. Army undersecretary picked to be Saudi envoy.". WSJ. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  9. "Obama and Biden have managed to get a few ambassador confirmations while on the road". Washington Post. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 15 August 2014.
  10. "Joseph W. Westphal". Embassy of the United States, Riyadh Saudi Arabia. Retrieved 25 November 2014.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Martin Lancaster
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works
1998–2001
Succeeded by
Michael Parker
Preceded by
Gregory Dahlberg
Acting
United States Secretary of the Army
Acting

2001
Succeeded by
Thomas White
Preceded by
Nelson Ford
United States Undersecretary of the Army
2009–2014
Succeeded by
Brad Carson
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
James Smith
United States Ambassador to Saudi Arabia
2014–present
Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, November 18, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.